In my
planning and research I used various media technologies including:
- Youtube
- Blogger
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- Social Medias
- iMovie
- Adobe Premier/Photoshop
To begin my
research into existing music videos I used platforms such as YouTube and google
to collect information. Both are particularly useful tools as I was able to
watch music videos from different music artists - Beyoncé in particular - on
YouTube and then research further into the semiotics of the video and the
branding of the artist on google. I collected this information on Microsoft
word, analysing my findings through essays and then presenting them digitally
on my blog – CharlotteDaleA2Media.blogspot.com. The benefit of these platforms
is that information is readily available and accessible at any time anywhere.
This is a recent development as in previous decades information was only
available through traditional sources for example textbooks, or TV channels.
The technological development enabled my research to be more proficient and
therefore aids me when constructing my own music video. Similarly, Web 2.0 allows consumers to be active online rather than passively taking in information. This benefitted me as I was able to collect information from more sources and opinions from a wider range of people.
Throughout
the early stages of developing my music video idea I conducted a lot of
research and planning which I used blogger to present. For me, blogger acted as
an online diary tracking the progression of my ideas from the initial idea, to
the production and now evaluation. The benefit of blogger is that it is online
and therefore accessible anywhere at any time. It is also extremely easy to use
and enables me to embed videos and images to my research making it more proficient.
To create a more varied range of research I also presented some of my research
in PowerPoint format such as my research titled “Beyoncé – Brand or Artist?”
This gave me the opportunity to try different technologies as a method of
formatting and enabled me to combine images with my research for extra depth.
Social
medias were also crucial media technologies in both planning, and production.
Firstly, as part of my planning I used social media to research into Beyoncé
and explored how she engaged with fans, advertised her products, and how
different audiences reacted to her. A headline which developed during this
period was her announcement of being pregnant with twins which was particularly
useful for my research as she used Facebook and Instagram to share the news and
create a ‘media’ frenzy. Social media was also used as part of my audience
feedback as I used the platform twitter to distribute a questionnaire relating
to my music video to the potential target audience. Finally, I incorporated
social media into my music video and had a shot which used Instagram to display
the effect such new platforms can have on a person’s own self-image and worth. Therefore,
through using social media throughout the process of producing a music video an
artist, I learnt how important it is within media and people’s lives and how it
can both positively and negatively affect society.
Arguably the
most crucial media technologies in the entire process were my video editing
tools iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro. I chose to use both tools in conjunction with
each other when editing as they offer similar features however Adobe Premiere
is more advanced and thus I find it more confusing to work with. Therefore, to
overcome this I did all my simple editing for both my music video and
evaluation Question1 on iMovie which allowed me to do simple cuts, add
transitions, add colour filters and add text to my chorus images. I then
transferred the first draft of editing into adobe premiere to add more details.
Similarly, another
adobe product which I used was Adobe Photoshop which aided the creation of my
print products. I hadn’t previously used this tool and therefore found it
tricky to work at first but it was crucial in ensuring that my print products
were high quality and to the right dimensions. Photoshop is a newer
technological development and when mastered enables professionals to morph and
edit photos into seamless designs. This is highly topical to the theme of my
music video as often images we see in the media are edited to look ideal as
opposed to real. Therefore, when using Photoshop, I had this in mind to ensure
that I made my products remained simple and realistic and not overly polished and
professional which would take away from the message of my video.
To conclude,
media technologies are ever-developing and expanding allowing creators and
media professionals to accomplish and create innovative videos, images and
design. When creating my three media products I tried to explore as many
different technologies as possible to understand how professionals work to
create real media products. I am pleased with the outcome of using all the
different products and believe my skills have developed significantly through
doing so.
